Johor Village Chiefs Liaison Committee chairman Sem Teck Sian (centre) speaking at a press conference with Johor MCA Youth deputy chief Henry Mok (left) and Johor MCA publicity chief Tan Hiang Kee on Oct 29.
JOHOR BARU: There was no instruction given to the 123 Chinese village chiefs in Johor to boycott a meeting organised by the Housing and Local Government Ministry, says the state village chiefs liaison committee.
Its chairman Sem Teck Sian denied Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming’s claims about such a boycott of the meeting, which took place last Friday (Oct 24).
Sem said he was invited to the meeting, which was to discuss Chinese new village allocation and administration procedures, but he could not make it due to prior engagements.
“I also received questions from several village chiefs from different districts about whether it was mandatory for them to attend as they, too, had prior appointments.
“I told them that it was up to them to decide whether or not to attend, since it was not a mandatory meeting,” he said in a press conference here on Wednesday (Oct 29).
He added that he also consulted with the Johor MCA leadership, which gave a similar response.
“If there was an instruction to boycott the meeting, then how come the minister himself said 60 village chiefs still showed up?” Sem added.
He said he has been a village chief for seven years and had always prioritised villagers’ welfare instead of political interests.
Meanwhile, Johor MCA Youth deputy chief Henry Mok said he has received many complaints from village chiefs about the lack of allocations from the ministry.
“During a recent event in Johor Baru, the minister announced that RM16.63mil was channelled to the new villages in Johor this year.
“I request the minister to list out where the allocations went to because many new villages including those in Seelong (Kulai), Parit Sulong (Batu Pahat) and Kukup (Pontian) did not receive it,” he said.
Johor MCA publicity chief Tan Hiang Kee, who was also at the press conference, voiced her concern that the ministry would use the “boycott” as an excuse not to give allocations to all 123 Chinese new villages in Johor in future.
On Sunday (Oct 26), Nga, at a press conference criticised MCA’s top and state leadership for instructing the Johor chiefs to boycott the briefing, adding that this move harmed the interests of the villagers and deviated from the spirit of public service.
He reportedly said ministry officials travelled from Putrajaya for the meeting and that village chiefs’ duty is to serve villagers, not be subjected to political differences.
Ng however, added that 60 of them showed up.
